


The Seperated

by DominatorBot



Series: The Alternate Universe [4]
Category: Wander Over Yonder (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Series, lord wander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24473800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DominatorBot/pseuds/DominatorBot
Summary: Lost in space, Lord Wander and Dominique set off in search of a place to rest and to plan their next move.  Meanwhile Carl and Sylvia are trying to evade Hater and his Skullship by hiding in an asteroid field.
Relationships: Lord Wander/Dominique
Series: The Alternate Universe [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728091
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	The Seperated

# Wander Over Yonder (AU)

It had been a few weeks since Nora had taken young Wander in to her home. He had been so scared that first day to enter the doorway that he almost spent the night sleeping outside. But the heat of the home and the smell of freshly made food had been too enticing to ignore. And so he had come in. Nora showed him the table, eating utensils and some basic table manners. Wander wasn't keen on learning anything that first night and just devoured all the food that was brought out before him.

Nora didn't complain. She ate in silence as Wander stuffed the food into his mouth. When it came to dessert was when she finally spoke. “You've been through a lot, Wander. Can you tell me anything about how you got here?”

Her question had soured his mood. Thinking back to that moment was always a painful experience not helped when another person asked about it. Though he didn't know that until now. “I remember hanging on to my mother's neck. I can hear her breathing. Dad's not far behind but I can't see him. I don't know how but my mom trips and I fall into some bushes. When I got up to get back to her she was gone. I didn't know what to do. I cried for hours calling her name. I thought that if I shouted long and hard enough she'll hear and come back.” He stopped.

“But she never did and you grew up in those woods all by yourself since then.”

Wander looked down at his dessert. His appetite was completely gone now. Tears formed in his eyes. He couldn't speak so he simply nodded. Nora didn't ask any more questions that night. Instead she showed him to the spare room she had for guests, that never got used, and told him he could sleep here.

There was confusion in his young eyes, he had never been shown this kindness before so he didn't know how to respond. “A simple 'thank you' is all that's needed.” She said.

“Thank you.” He said with a smile.

That night, young Wander had slept so soundly that he did not waken when Nora came around the next morning to get him up. She couldn't bring herself to force him out of bed so she let him lie on. It was the first proper sleep Wander could remember having.

Now he sat in Nora's workshop on top of one of her many tables, swinging his legs backwards and forwards. “What are you building today?” He asked while playing with one of the toys she had built for him.

“I'm not building anything, little Wander. _You_ are going to build something.”

“Me? But I don't know how!” He protested.

“Neither did I at your age. But now I can build all sorts of things! It's never too early to start learning something.”

“But what if I get it wrong or it breaks?”

“Well, that's bound to happen, especially on your first go. But how else do we learn to improve without failure?”

He shrugged. He wasn't sure what she was getting at.

“Come! Let me show you how these work.” She showed him many things that day. Blueprints for all the toys she had made and ones for things Wander had never seen before. Things he wanted to see. She taught him how to create and build. How to start with nothing and finish with something. It took a long time and many failures before he understood what she was trying to teach him.

One day he asked her, “How many robots did you make?”

“A lot.” She suddenly sounded sad. “Too many.”

Wander hugged her legs. He didn't know why she was sad but he knew this always helped.

“You're so sweet, little Wander.” She patted him on the head. “So how did your construction go today?”

He scratched the back of his head. “Not well, I'm afraid but I think I'm getting close.”

“So long as you keep at it you'll always improve.”

“What about you? Have you built anything new?”

“Not since that last toy I made. I fear I'm running out of imagination.” She said wearily.

“That's sad.”

“Yes, it is.” Her face took on a hardness that he never seen before. “But promise me one thing.”

“Anything, Nora!”

“Promise me you will never build something that will kill others.”

“Why would I build something like that?”

“Just promise me. Please.”

Seeing how upset she was getting he said, “Of course. I promise.” He crossed his heart.

“Thank you, little Wander. Now let's go eat. It's time for supper.”

Wander let go of Nora's legs and skipped to the next room, unaware of where his life was about to go next.

## 

THE SEPERATED

“What the flarp just happened?” Lord Wander asked with his hands against his head. The Bubble they were in drifted among the stars, with not a planet in sight.

Domi rolled her eyes. “That's just great! Who programmed that robot any way?”

“I did.” He answered flatly.

“Oh, well you did a great job!” She gave him a thumbs up.

“It's not his fault. You saw how chaotic things got back there!”

Turning off her sarcasm she said, “I'm sorry, I don't mean to blame your robot. I'm sure he tried his best.”

“That's all Carl ever does. His best.” He looked concerned.

“You really like Carl, don't you?”

“He's the only friend I have. And he's also the best any one could ask for.”

“Tell me about it! My pal Sylvia is the same kind of friend. The two of us are inseparable.” She said proudly before it hit her. “Until now that is.”

Wander saw the sadness in her eyes. The last thing either of them saw was the _Venandi_ warping away from them with the Skullship not far behind. “Hey, Sylvia is a Zbornak and Carl is the toughest there is. I'm sure whatever trouble comes their way they can deal with it.”

Domi half smiled. “You're right.”

“But the question now is, what do _we_ do?”

“We need to find shelter. I don't know about you but sleeping in a Bubble in the middle of space doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.” Although a part of her wondered how warm Wander's fur would feel when lying next to him.

Wander started to blush as Domi kept starting at his chest. He coughed. “There must be a place nearby.”

Domi rubbed her chin. “I think Syl and I passed through here before.”

“Really? How can you tell?”

“Honestly I don't know, we travel so much it's possible we went through this way.” She admitted.

Lord Wander was unamused. “That's not very helpful.”

“Hey, you travel all over space too! I don't see you helping.”

“That's because... Carl does all the flying.” He said trying to mask his shame.

Domi crossed her arms. “Well, that's not very helpful.”

Wander narrowed his eyes at her.

Domi ignored him and tried looking around, keeping an eye out for any indication of a nearby planet. She came up empty. “I don't think we have much of a choice.”

Lord Wander nodded his head. “We'll just have to pick at random and hope that we find a place soon.”

She turned her head to look at him. “So which way do you want to go?”

He thought about it but the more he thought the more unsure he was that he would make the right choice. “I think I'll let you decide. You're the one that does all the travelling by Bubble after all.”

She gave him a look. “Good point.” She took one last look around before settling on a spot. “Let's go in that direction.”

Lord Wander agreed and they both set off towards, hopefully, a safe place.

They walked for quite some time. Time enough for Domi to get bored and pull out her guitar.

“How the flarp did you do that?” Wander was astonished.

“What? I practised.” She responded with some confusion.

“Not how you learned to play the guitar. How did you fit it in that tiny bag?” He pointed at the small sack hanging off of her belt. “I thought it was a medicinal bag.”

“Nope. This lovely bag is magic!” Her eyes sparkled.

Wander shook his head. “And what does that mean?”

“It means that this bag can give me what I need.”

Wander stopped the Bubble. “Hold up. You mean to tell me that you have a magic bag that can grant you anything you want?”

“No. Only what I need.”

Wander ground his teeth. “Then why don't you use it to pull out a telescope?”

“I try not to use it unless really necessary.”

“We will die in this Bubble far away from any planet! I think it's necessary!” He yelled.

“Pfft, hardly.” She pointed over his shoulder. He turned around to see a beautiful planet waiting for them to land on it.

“Finally!” Wander moved the Bubble closer to the planet.

“You're welcome.” She said to herself.

* * *

The _Venandi_ continued flying through warp space with the Skullship getting dangerously close behind. Carl re-routed as much power as he could to the engine without doing away with key systems. And with Sylvia onboard he couldn't shut off life support. That probably would have given him the extra boost he needed to get away from Hater.

A loud _thud!_ Woke Sylvia up. Her head felt like it had been used to smash rocks. She rubbed the area where Domi had placed the ointment and winced at the pain. “You stupid robot! When I get my hands on you... whoa!” She fell over when another blast rocked the ship.

“What's going on?”

“We are being pursued by Hater in his Skullship.”

“Where's Domi and Lord Wander?”

“Gone. I do not know what happened to them.”

“What?!”

“Our main concern at the moment is to loose Hater so we can go back and find them.”

Sylvia had to fight the urge to attack that robot, but it was right. They couldn't help their respective friends if they died trying to go back now, and she needed his help to do that. Besides Domi had her magic bag with her so they were probably safe enough. Safer than her and the robot were at least.

Another strike hit the ship. “Can this thing go any faster?”

“Only if I divert more power but that means cutting off critical systems.”

“Grop. Then there's nothing for it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take us out of warp and hope that we drop somewhere with cover.”

“That seems highly unlikely.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

He remained silent.

“Didn't think so.”

Carl hovered an appendage over the warp deactivation switch. “Dropping in 3... 2... 1.”

The warp tunnel disappeared. Space returned to normal. They were also surrounded by asteroids. “Quick land on one of those asteroids!”

“One moment.” Carl steered the heavily damaged _Venandi_ towards the collection of spinning space rocks. As he made his approach he switched the engines to reverse so they could land with minimal impact. And it would have worked, if the engines were still operating properly.

“Why aren't we slowing down?” Sylvia asked with mounting worry as the rock in front of them grew larger at an incredible rate.

“The engine is damaged. I cannot land us safely.”

“You better try you bucket of bolts because I don't wanna die today.”

“But you are an organic. You do not want to die on any day.”

“Was that meant to be a joke?”

Carl did not answer.

The ship hurtled towards the massive rotating rock, sparks and smoke trailing behind it. Sylvia braced herself for the inevitable impact while Carl tried everything he could to steer the ship into a better landing. As the ship collided with the surface a harsh vibration nearly shook them apart. Dust and rocks flew off the surface of the asteroid as the ship left behind a long trail.

Finally they came to a stop. And everything went dark.

The emergency lights switched on, filling the ship in an eerie red light.

Sylvia opened her eyes. She didn't know when she had closed them. And saw Carl coming towards her. She raised her fists, ready to fight him off but he merely held out a 'hand'. Sylvia accepted it and he pulled her onto her feet. “Good job, robot.”

“Carl.”

“Uh, sure. Thanks, Carl.”

“But we are not safe yet. Hater is bound to come back looking for us so I suggest we get the _Venandi_ operational again and get away from here.”

“I agree. But how can I help?”

“Most of the damage was done to the exterior. You will have to monitor the situation while I deal with the repairs.”

“Can't I go with you?”

“No. There are no space suits on board that will fit you.”

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. She was pretty sure Carl had called her fat. “Excuse me?”

“What I mean to say is that all available suits are designed to only fit Lord Wander.”

“Figures.”

Carl showed her the monitor station where she can keep track of the repairs and view all the remaining camera feeds. “This is where you will be needed.”

“Okay. I used to own my own ship so I get the jist of it.”

“Excellent. I will now go outside and see how bad the damage is and estimate how long repairs will take.”

“I hope they don't take to long.” She said while watching one of the monitors showing the space above them.

Carl was half-way to the exit when Sylvia called his name. “Carl! Be careful out there.”

He nodded at her before resuming his walk to the airlock. After cycling the doors and adjusting the atmosphere he was outside and scampering towards the rear of the ship.

Sylvia switched the feed to a camera that could see the little robot. Unfortunately there were no working cameras near the engine so when he disappeared from view she had no way to see how he was doing.

She switched channels to show the feed of the space above them. If Hater came back looking for them then this was the best way to spot him and that goofy Skullship. To her relief there was still no sign of him.

A button flashed on the console and she pressed it. “I have reached the engine. The damage is not as bad as I feared but it will take some time to repair. My estimation is around five hours.”

“Five hours. Okay, that doesn't sound too bad.”

“Agreed.”

Sylvia was thinking about leaving the robot to work in peace but the sounds of the creaking ship and the vulnerable situation they were in was getting to her. “So Carl, how long have you been working for Lord Wander?”

She heard sparking noises as the robot reconnected broken wires. “It has been two years now. And I do not work for him, we are partners.”

“Partners? Who ever heard of a person partnering up with a robot?”

“I am a special case. Lord Wander created me specifically to be his partner and friend.”

“He built you to be his friend?” Sylvia had to stifle a laugh. What kind of loser needs to build a friend?

“I can hear your attempt not to laugh. This is not a funny matter.”

“Of course not. He only built a friend like a completely normal person.” She said, dripping with sarcasm.

“It is not my place to explain such actions. But Wander _is_ my friend and I will not stand to hear you mock him.”

Sylvia blinked. “You're a strange robot, Carl.”

“So I've been told.”

The silence after he had stopped talking was growing more awkward by the second. “I didn't mean to upset you.”

“You did not upset me.” Came the curt response.

“I'm sorry any way.”

“Apology accepted.”

She may not know the reasoning why Lord Wander created Carl instead of just making friends the normal way but Carl acted like no robot she had ever met. He was unique and, in a way, she supposed, that made him just as much a friend as any flesh and blood type.

An hour passed by when Carl spoke again. “These repairs may take longer than I thought.”

“You better hope that's not true Carl.”

“Why is that?”

“Because Hater has just entered the region.” She said while staring at the Skullship that had just appeared on her camera feed.

* * *

The _Venandi_ dropped from warp. “Peepers! Drop us out of warp now!”

He did as he was ordered but it was already too late. Every second they spent in warp took them further away from Lord Wander. When they finally came to a stop Hater roared in anger. “Take us back!”

“But sir, we don't know where they dropped.”

“Then call the robot and find out where they are.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Yes, sir. Right away, sir!” Peepers dialled the number for Carl and tried establishing a connection. Their was no response. “He doesn't seem to be responding.”

“Stupid robot. What good is he for if he won't answer when we call?”

“He may be damaged, sir. We did hurt the _Venandi_ pretty badly.”

Hater chuckled. “That we did.”

“Sir?”

“They're weak and need to stop for repairs which means they will be vulnerable.”

“That's true, sir. But that doesn't help us unless we know where they are.”

“Then figure it out Peepers. That's what I pay you for.”

“Of course, sir.” Peepers hopped onto his computer and typed in calculations. Hater tried to follow what he was doing but he got lost in under a second. He looked at his watch then drummed his fingers on his arm rest. What was taking that eyeball so long?

“I got it!”

“You do?” He was more surprised than impressed.

“Yes, sir. I calculated the time we spent in warp and the time they spent in warp and subtracted the two then reversed the results from our current position and have narrowed it down to a specific region.”

Hater's face was blank.

“I know what region they'll be in.”

“Yes! Good work Peepers! Where are they?”

“After running the calculation I determined they are in the Desolon asteroid field.”

“Seriously? Do you know how many rocks are there? They could be hiding anywhere!” Hater was getting angry again.

“I understand, sir but without any Intel from Carl we don't have much of a choice. It's also possible that interference from the asteroids is stopping us from contacting him.”

“Yes, I see your point. Very well, take us to the Desolon asteroid field. Perhaps we will get lucky.”

“As you command, Hater.”

Hater had to admit he liked the sound of that. Command. It's a pity Peepers was all he could command. He thought about all the things he could do if he had an army at his control. No more bounty hunting for him. He could _make_ the Galaxy fear and respect him. But that was a dream and dreams were for weaklings.

When the Skullship arrived in the asteroid field Peepers initiated a scan. “It's just as I feared. The asteroids are making it difficult to find anything!”

“Take us in close to the rocks and turn on the searchlights. We're doing this the old fashioned way.”

* * *

“Oooohhh.” Domi's eyes were wide with wonder. The planet they found was so _alive_. Hundreds of people walked the busy streets of the city that they landed near. Bright neon lights lit up the place like it was a celebration. Stores, casinos, hotels, resorts. This place had it all and Domi wanted to see everything.

“May I remind you we are trying to keep a low profile.” Lord Wander whispered in her ear.

Domi giggled as his breath tickled her.

Wander snapped away from her, standing straight and sweating. He didn't mean to get so close.

“Relax. No one here is going to know who we are. I doubt many hunters come to this place.”

“We go wherever the job takes us. Sometimes that means going to places...” Domi took him by the hand and dragged him into the nearest casino. “..we'd rather not.” His eyes bulged as he took in everything around him. The large crowd of people, the noise from the machines. The voices. The laughing. It was overwhelming. His face felt hot and damp from sweat. Domi was still holding his hand.

She dragged him forward some more but he resisted. “C'mon, we may as well have a little fun while we're here.”

Wander was finding it hard to speak. “I... uh... don't think...” He gulped.

Domi finally stopped to talk to him face-to-face. “Lord Wander, I think that... oh, you don't look so good.” Her eyes look worried. “I'm so sorry Wander. I didn't know.” She wrapped an arm around him and lead him back outside. The cool air felt good on his face and he felt like he could breathe again.

“It's _Lord_ Wander.” Was all he said.

“What?”

“Call me Lord Wander.”

“Okay, Lord Wander.” She said with little emotion.

“Now can we please find a place to rest?” He was feeling much better now that he didn't feel trapped and surrounded by people. But there was still a sizeable crowd outside.

“There's plenty to choose from.” She pointed out some of the nearby hotels. But she saw that he had still not completely recovered from what had happened to him inside the casino. “But I bet if we go to the quiet part of town we'll find a place just as good as any of these.” She poked his arm with her elbow.

“Then we better hurry. The longer we stay out in the open the sooner we get spotted.”

Domi tried slipping her arm under his, to give him some support but he pulled away from her. “I'm fine.”

“If you say so.” She walked out in front of him, clearing a path through the crowd and heading towards the more quieter part of town where none of the casinos operated.

The noise of the street crowds died away to mere background noise as they kept walking. Eventually, Lord Wander called Domi to stop and pointed at a sign above her head. “This place will do.”

The sign was crooked and looked like it was ready to fall off. Domi didn't look too pleased with his decision. “Are you sure? I mean, we could hide better in a crowd.”

“And so could any Hunter looking for us. This way they'll have a hard time staying out of sight.”

She remained unconvinced but Wander's reaction to the casino crowd had troubled her, so she decided not to argue with him. “Okay, we'll stay here for the night.”

“Then in the morning we can figure out our next move.” He said as he led Domi in through the front door. A bell above their heads rang and a short, moustached man took his eyes away from the screen he was watching. “Customers?” He asked with some amusement.

“Yes, we want to rent a room for the night.”

“I see.” The man gave Domi a look and grinned creepily. “Very good, sir. Just sign in the book here and you will have your key. But first, payment.” He held out his oily hand.

“How much?”

“Two hundred for the night.”

Wander reached into his pocket. He always liked to carry spare cash on hand just in case of rare emergencies like this. The money he pulled out was rolled up and added up to a lot more than two hundred so he separated what he needed and placed the rest back in his pocket.

“Two hundred.” He put the cash on the man's hand, signed the book. The desk clerk tossed him the key with '201' written on it.

“Second floor, first room on the left. Have a pleasant night.” Domi shivered at the way he said 'pleasant' then followed Wander up the stairs.

Their room smelled funny and looked like it was only cleaned once a month. Even the bed looked unappealing. Then it donned on Wander. One bed. He looked over at Domi who said, “Oh no, one bed? Looks like we'll have to share it.”

“No need. You can have the bed. I'll sleep on the floor.”

“The floor?”

“I'm used to it.”

Domi sat on the edge of the bed while Wander lay down in front of her with his back to her. “Listen about what happened at the casino.”

“It's fine, don't worry about it.”

“I didn't know you had a problem with crowds.”

“How could you? We just met.”

“I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“You've been doing that since we first spoke.”

Her face went red. “That's because I think you're cute.”

She couldn't see but his face had also turned red. “We better get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Domi lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She felt stupid just admitting to him what she thought of him but Domi preferred saying these things out loud rather than keeping them locked away inside.

She sighed.

As they slept the desk clerk still watched his television when a news report came on. The face of the green alien that had walked in earlier with the tall, furry one popped up with mention of the price on her head, and that that price had doubled. The man licked his lips. There was a sack of money just lying upstairs, waiting to be cashed in. He picked up his phone and made some calls.

* * *

Carl was making good progress on the repairs but there was still much to do. By his estimation he was over half way through what needed to be fixed. But he also thought about how every minute he spent rewiring cables, closing holes in the hull and running diagnostics was another minute the Skullship could potentially spot them.

So far the Skullship was checking asteroids at a great distance from their position but Carl was growing concerned that he might not finish in time.

“How's those repairs coming?” Sylvia's voice came over his radio.

“I am approximately half way done.”

“Is there no way you can work faster?”

“None.”

“There must be something I can do. I feel so useless just sitting here!” He heard her slam a fist on the console.

“Not so. You are keeping watch over us.”

“Watching and waiting for something to happen is driving me nuts.”

“But it is important. Not just for our sakes but for Lord Wander and Dominique.”

Sylvia rubbed her chin. The robot was right but she still felt like there was something more she could be doing to get them out of here faster.

“Before, you asked me about Lord Wander, may I ask you about Dominique?”

“She's the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. Her heart is always in the right place and not a day goes by that someone's day is improved by meeting her.”

“She sounds wonderful.”

“She really is. Sometime I wonder what my life would have turned out like if we never met.”

“You used to be a Hunter, correct?”

“That's right. I gave that up when I met Domi.”

“She convinced you to change?”

“No. As a matter of fact I was in the middle of a hunt and she happened to be in the same area. I don't know why but she decided to tag along with me even though I told her to scram. But, of course, she wouldn't leave. So while we travelled together I watched as she interacted with folks, helped those who needed it until eventually I started to help too. That was when I let the bounty go and quit my job.”

“Interesting.”

“Domi likes to lead by example. She shows you what it's like to be a good person but it's up to you to make the decision to change.”

“I think I understand.”

“And what about you? What do you know about Lord Wander?”

“I know very little about his life before my creation but I know enough to understand that he carries a lot of sadness with him. He is a lonely individual. But he fears getting close to others not just physically but emotionally. I've seen him at his lowest moments. I grow concerned over his mental state but I fear there is little I can do to help. My wish is that being around Dominique will help him in some way.”

“Do you think it's possible?”

“I do not know. All I can do is hope.”

Sylvia checked the camera feed again and saw the Skullship inching ever closer to their location. “That ship's not too far from us. I say we have about an hour before we're seen.”

“That is not enough time for these repairs.”

“Then I will give you the time.”

“How?”

“I'm going to create a distraction.”

“I ask again, how?”

“Let me worry about that. You just concentrate on fixing this ship as fast as possible.”

“I'm curious to see what you have in mind.”

_I am too_ , she thought to herself, but she had to do something to get Hater looking in another direction. She checked to see what systems were still functional and scrolled through the list until she found the thing she was looking for. It was crazy, reckless and had the potential to get them discovered if it failed. But what did she have to lose? Sylvia pressed a button and loaded missiles into the launch tubes. When they were in place she said to herself, “I hope this works.”

* * *

“This is boring! Peepers! Can't you do this any faster?” He pointed a bony finger at the short eyeball.

“I'm trying my best, sir but there are so many asteroids that we've barely scanned a fraction of them.”

Hater groaned, slouching in his chair. Then an idea popped in to his brain. “Peepers, I want you to shoot at the next asteroid.”

“Shoot? Are you serious? The debris could damage our ship as well as theirs.”

“Are you questioning my orders?”

“No, sir. Targetting the asteroids.”

Hater interlinked his fingers and watched as green lasers flew out from his ship and collided with the drifting rocks. Chunks of the broken asteroids drifted apart, colliding into other asteroids with some drifting dangerously close to the Skullship. Peepers panicked as one scratched along the hull.

“Sir, I suggest we stop the bombardment and go back to searching.”

“No! This is the fastest way.”

Peepers scowled as he continued blasting the rocks, endangering them even more. He was going to protest one more time when he saw an explosion behind the demolished asteroids. “Sir, I think I found something.”

“What is it?”

“There was an explosion of unknown origin.”

“Then take us in closer and see what caused it.”

“Right away, sir.” Part of Peepers didn't really care what had caused the explosion, was just glad that he wasn't shooting at dangerous rocks any more.

The eyeball moved the ship through the recently created debris field, small rocks bounced off the hull while others left behind deep scratches but no real damage was done. After clearing the debris Peepers activated the searchlights again and scanned the area. Within a few seconds he found bits of shrapnel and large pieces of scorched metal.

“These are too small to be pieces of a ship. They're more likely to be detonated missiles.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don't know. It could have been a malfunctioning missile that they had to jettison.”

“So they must be close.”

“I think so, sir.”

“Then keep up with the search. I'd rather have Lord Wander alive.”

“Yes, sir.” Relieved that Hater didn't want him firing at any more asteroids Peepers gladly returned to methodically searching each large asteroid.

* * *

Domi snored softly after easily drifting to sleep. Her sounds reached Wander's ears and enticed him to rest as well, but he couldn't. His mind was racing. Thoughts of Carl being thrown onto a scrap pile in pieces had a tight hold on him. It was impossible to know what had happened to his mechanical friend or his ship and he dared not try to ask about it.

He heard Domi shifting in her sleep. How could she rest knowing her friend was also in danger? Did Sylvia mean nothing to her? His question was answered when Domi turned over the side of the bed resting her head on her arms, her eyes wide open. “Can't sleep?”

“I thought you were snoring.”

“No. That was my way of trying to help you sleep. But it obviously didn't work.”

“Thank you for trying though.”

Domi smiled for a second. “Thinking about Carl?”

“And Sylvia too. I hope they're okay. I don't like the idea of Hater catching up to them.”

“How bad is this Hater any way?”

“He's the worst. Built himself a reputation of always bringing his bounties in dead.”

Domi's face darkened. “What a horrible person.”

“He's very cruel and malicious. Doesn't care about anyone, well maybe except for Peepers but I'm not even sure about that.”

“Peepers?”

“His partner, or employee, it's hard to tell.”

“So why is he after us? I thought my bounty was for alive only.”

“It is. But Hater doesn't care about that. He just wants to ruin my chance to...” He was about to say 'cash in' but he remembered who he was talking to. “He's always had it in for me. This is just his latest attempt to be a thorn in my side.”

“Sounds like Hater needs to find something better to do with his time.”

“Too bad he enjoys his job so much.”

Domi turned onto her back. “Hater. I don't think I've ever hated anyone before.”

“You're lucky then.”

Domi almost asked him what he had meant by that when they both heard an ominous creaking sound near their door. Domi whispered to him. “What's that?”

“Trouble. I think you've been discovered.”

“Shoot.”

“Get behind that door.” He pointed at the wall where he wanted her to stand so that when the door opened she would be behind it.

As she got in to position Lord Wander slipped his gloves and open-front jacket on then hopped on to the bed, acting as if he wasn't expecting an intrusion.

He heard a key sliding into the door's keyhole and unlocking it. It opened to the sight of three scruffy looking men, with the middle one being the man that rented them the room.

“We know about your friend, stranger. I suggest you leave her here with us and walk away. You're only getting one chance.”

Wander didn't respond. He clenched his fists tightly, digging his fingers into his palms, and turned them into two hard lumps of ice. There was visible confusion among the men and even some fear but their greed won out and they entered the room, brandishing clubs.

“We warned you.” The greasy clerk said, raising his club. Wander moved too quick for him and spun off the bed towards the group, slamming an ice covered fist into a face and the other into a gut.

The third man yelled then charged at him but Wander dropped to his knees, grabbed the man with both hands and threw him into the man behind him. The greasy clerk rubbed his sore jaw before swinging his club widely. Wander backed away, forming ice on his hands again, turning them large. He reached out and grabbed the greasy man and forced him against the back wall. There was a loud cracking sound as the wood snapped behind him.

Domi pushed the door forward and saw the three men lying about the room. “Nice job. But I think it's time for us to go.”

“Why's that?”

“I can hear more coming up the stairs.”

That meant the stairs were blocked and the room was too small to use Orbbal Juice. There was no other option. Wander took Domi's hand and pulled her towards him, wrapping a hand around her waist. “I'm about to do something very dangerous but I need you to be ready. Do you have the Orbbal Juice?”

Domi's face had turned red and it took her a second to respond to him by nodding and pulling out her little bottle.

“No time to count. Let's go!” Wander lifted her up with the arm around her waist, ran to the window and leapt through it, shattering the thin glass into thousands of pieces. Their bodies fell towards the flat ground as Domi did what she had to do and wrapped them in a Bubble. Their momentum stopped and they were safe. Above and behind them they heard the angry shouts of people who had just witnessed their escape.

Wander snapped his arm away from Domi. “Nice job, Dominique.”

She nudged him. “Not so bad yourself.”

This planet was no longer safe so without waiting around for anything else to go wrong they set off back into space in search of a new place to rest and to, hopefully, find a way to contact Carl and Sylvia.

* * *

Sylvia's distraction had worked. If Hater continued shooting asteroids he would have hit them a lot sooner than if he was simply looking for them. But her missile plan had fixed that. Instead of firing them at a rock she programmed two to detonate near one, to confuse Hater and Peepers and to get them searching in the other direction.

“That was a brilliant idea, Sylvia.”

“It's only brilliant if it keeps them away long enough for us to escape.”

As time passed and the Skullship continued it's futile search Carl finally announced that, “Repairs are complete.”

“Finally! Alright, get your metal butt back in the ship and I'll get us out of here.

Carl climbed back into the ship through the airlock and returned to the bridge. “Where is the Skullship?”

“Over there. It's blocked by some asteroids.”

“Then I suggest we take advantage of that and leave this place.”

“Couldn't agree more.” Sylvia said as she input the co-ordinates to Meadar. And warped.

* * *

“What are you doing?” Setronilion asked angrily as he watched massive drills tearing the land outside his estate apart.

The cold, almost mechanical voice of Lord Dominator echoed in the great hall. “This planet serves a greater purpose than being your home. I need access to its core.”

“Why can't you use a planet without people living on it?”

“It matters not to me what planet we use. Your world is as good as any.”

“But what about me? And my people?”

“You can always migrate.”

“But this is my home! You can't do this!”

“I disagree. And you are in no position to stop me.” The sarcophagus floated away from the snake.

“I made a terrible mistake in agreeing to help that man. If he even is a man.”

One of Setronilion's most loyal guards slipped out from behind some curtains. “I heard the conversation. What do need me to do?”

“I don't know yet, but we must get rid of this floating monster. I don't trust his intentions and I fear I may have put Wander in danger by sending him after that girl.”

“The last we heard about his whereabouts he had located her but was intercepted by Hater. He gave chase. That's all we know.”

Setronilion's tail quivered in fear. “I don't like any of this.”

“If I may suggest, I can have some of my men spy on Lord Dominator. Maybe they can find a weakness that we can exploit.”

“Yes, that sounds wise. And tell them to be very careful. We still don't know what he is capable of.”

“Of course.” The guard slithered away leaving Setronilion alone, staring out at his once beautiful home.

End of Part Four


End file.
